23 May 2006

you know, i haven't done a list in a while ...

so, i came across this list from rolling stone, comprising the best songs, one a year, for the forty years that the magazine has been in existence.

it's a good list--imagine w/ what difficulty one would have said that ten years ago. most notably, they seem to be making amends for almost entirely ignoring britpop : oasis, pulp, suede & hefner made the list--a bit of an overcompensation there w/ the last one. there are also the idiosyncratic selections (the monkees, millie jackson, gbv, the rondelles, hefner); and the verging-on-self-conscious selections for other artists (the stones, "dandelion"; lou reed, "crazy feeling"; morrissey, "playboys"; pavement, "debris slide"; nirvana, "sliver"; missy elliott, "weave"; hefner, "we love the city"--if anything from that year, "good fruit").

i made my own list, rather hastily. there may be omissions; the years may be off. a quick glace tells me that i share w/ the rs list "temptation" and "common people," which are arguably the greatest songs of the 80's and 90's, respectively. oh, and we also both have idiosyncratic selections and verging-on-self-conscious selections--but no hefner from me. what do i have? well ...

1967 : nancy sinatra - "you only live twice"
1968 : david ackles - "down river"
1969 : isaac hayes - "by the time i get to phoenix"
1970 : amon düül ii - "archangels thunderbird"
1971 : the rolling stones - "moonlight mile"
1972 : roxy music - "virginia plain"
1973 : aretha franklin - "angel"
1974 : bob dylan - "dirge"
1975 : steve harley & cockney rebel - "make me smile (come up & see me)"
1976 : david ruffin - "walk away from love"
1977 : talking heads - "love --> building on fire"
1978 : blondie - "picture this"
1979 : dan hartman feat. loleatta holloway- "relight my fire / vertigo"
1980 : dexy's midnight runners - "there, there, my dear"
1981 : prince - "controversy"
1982 : new order - "temptation"
1983 : the the - "uncertain smile" (7" version)
1984 : lloyd cole & the commotions - "rattlesnakes"
1985 : felt - "primitive painters"
1986 : madonna - "open your heart"
1987 : the happy mondays - "24 hour party people"
1988 : pet shop boys - "left to my own devices"
1989 : de la soul - "eye know"
1990 : the fall - "bill is dead"
1991 : public enemy - "shut 'em down"
1992 : nick cave & the bad seeds - "straight to you"
1993 : thieves - "unworthy"
1994 : suede - "the wild ones"
1995 : pulp - "common people"
1996 : sleeper - "what do i do now"
1997 : teenage fanclub - "ain't that enough"
1998 : massive attack - "teardrop"
1999 : the magnetic fields - "the luckiest guy on the lower east side"
2000 : outkast - "b.o.b."
2001 : andrew w.k. - "party hard"
2002 : conway - "lisa's got hives"
2003 : ted leo & the pharmacists - "where have all the rude boys gone?"
2004 : girls aloud - "love machine"
2005 : guillemots - "trains to brazil"
2006 : nelly furtado - "maneater"

6 comments:

Dave Rawkblog said...

I love Hefner, but really only "The Fidelity Wars."

fred said...

"hymn for the cigarettes," dude.

nothing wrong w/ hefner, a few crap albums notwithstanding. but, to me, "b.o.b." is one of those "temptation" / "common people" songs that, no matter how eclectic one wants to seem, have to be on the list. but even if you disagree, cool, just don't go in the entirely different direction, a la hefner. it just cements the fact that rolling stone as an institution hasn't understood british music since, oh, punk rock. perhaps they think / thought that, wow, "we love the city" is like a jaundiced view of the capital and says as much about the u.k. as "common people" did in 1995 (that's 1995 and not 1996).

i posted a track from darren hayman's solo album not so long ago. surprisingly charming, w/ little to no mentions of g.o.d.

fred said...

and i realize someone could say the same about 1991 & "smells like teen spirit."

one (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9) i don't think one could say that "shut 'em down" was such a leftfield choice--leftwing, to be sure.

two, kurt cobain never meant shit to me (yes, both simple & plain). although "all apologies" is sure purdy.

Thomas said...

Don't think "they" are "making amends" for anything, Fred - I'm pretty sure that's Rob Sheffield's personal list. It actually reminds me quite a bit of the top 100 Spin did for their 4th anniversary issue back in '89.

Right there with you re: "B.O.B.," especially as it's the only song on your list also on mine.

fred said...

no name attached, but yeah, you're right, thomas : no "they," but "personal, subjective, indefensible, and utterly irresponsible." sheffield's, likely, as he's not just the only one who would know suede, but who would also refrain from appending "london."

Anonymous said...

7/24
1.Dog Man Star - Suede
2.Ziggy Stardust - David Bowie
3.Queen Is Dead- The Smiths
4.Scott 3 - Scott Walker
5.Spirit Of Eden - Talk Talk
6.Secrets Of The Beehieve - David Sylvian
7.Doctor Came at Dawn - Smog
8.Sackcloth'n'Ashes - 16 Horsepower 9."2" - Black Heart Procession 10.Antony And The Johnsons - Antony And The Johnsons 11.Closer - Joy Division 12.Different Class - Pulp 13.Murder Ballads - Nick Cave 14.New Wave - The Auteurs 15.Transformer - Lou Reed 16.Pornography - The Cure 17.The Black Light - Calexico 18.Adore - The Smashing Pumpkins 19. Velvet Underground & Nico 20.Ok Computer - Radiohead 21.Murmur - R.E.M 22.Generation Terrorists*Holy Bible - Manic Street Preachers 23.Actually - Pet Shop Boys 24.Perry Blake - Perry Blake